Chapter 9
After all, her husband and son meant everything to her.
But now, she only had six months left.
The second she saw Terrence take Krista to Emery’s school
activity, she knew she had to leave.
Emery hadn’t seen Bethany for a while.
Hearing cooking sounds from the kitchen, he thought she was
back.
He jumped out of bed excitedly, freshened up, and sprinted
towards the kitchen.
Yesterday’s breakfast wasn’t yummy, and he got hungry before
noon. The school lunch was even yuckier.
Usually, Bethany would make his lunch in the morning, and at
noon, the teacher would heat it up in the microwave for him.
The lunch Bethany made was tasty and looked great, and his
classmates were all jealous. Some would drool at the sight of his
lunch.
Chapter 9
He didn’t bring lunch yesterday, and many classmates asked him
why, but he didn’t know what to say.
This morning, he had to make sure Bethany packed a yummy
lunch for him.
He called out for Bethany and walked into the kitchen, his eyes
wide open in surprise.
“Krista, is that you?”
Krista turned to look at Emery.
He totally forgot he was looking for his mom and skipped over to Krista, all smiles.
Krista scrunched up her face, sounding put out. “Emery,
remember last night when we had dinner? You said the school
lunch was gross. I thought I’d make you a lunch for school, but I guess I botched it.”
Just as she finished talking, a burnt smell hit the air, and the pan burst into flames.
She freaked out, dropped to a squat, and balled herself up.
Emery hugged her tight and yelled, “Dad! The kitchen is on fire! Dad!”
Chapter 9
He gave Krista’s back a gentle pat to calm her down. “It’s okay.
Don’t be scared.”
Hearing the shout, Terrence hurried over. He turned off the gas
stove and slapped the lid on the pan. The fire went out in no time.
Krista was still shaking like a leaf.
Terrence looked worried.
He slowly squatted down and softly said, “Krista.”
Krista peeked up through her eyelashes, her eyes watery.
“I’m such a mess, aren’t I?”
Terrence thought back to the big fire seven years ago.
Ever since then, Krista had been scared of fire.
“It’s not your problem. Stay away from the kitchen from now on.””
Terrence looked at Emery with a serious expression. “Krista had a bad fire experience before, and she’s scared of fire. Don’t ever let her cook for you, okay?”
Krista explained, “It’s not Emery’s fault. He didn’t ask me to cook for him.”
Emery gazed at Krista with a pang of heartache. “Krista, you’re
Chapter 9
terrified of fire, yet you still cooked for me.”
“I… I was worried that you wouldn’t eat well at school.”
Touched beyond words, Emery burst into tears. He clung to
Krista and, voice quivering, he pleaded, “Krista, you’re way too
good to me. Please don’t ever go near the kitchen again.”
Terrence helped Krista get up, but her legs gave way, and she
could hardly stand steadily.
So he lifted her in his arms.
“Emery, go get your schoolbag. We’re going out to eat”
Eliza was sweeping the yard when she saw Terrence come out,
carrying Krista. Her face soured.
She thought, “Yesterday, Krista said she’s Mr. McConnell’s aunt, but she doesn’t seem to know how to watch out for gossip.
“That’s over the top!
“If Mrs. McConnell finds out, she’ll be hurt.”
“Eliza, come open the car door,” Terrence said.
Eliza didn’t want to, but she went over and opened the door.
